1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a vending machine that is capable of efficiently storing, retrieving and delivering product containers having a variety different sizes, shapes and weights. In particular, the vending machine of the present invention may be simultaneously stocked with products in containers of different sizes, shapes and/or weights, and efficiently store, retrieve and deliver each of those containers.
2. Description of Related Art
Changes and improvements in product container configurations have led to increased performance demands upon vending machines. In the past, a given vending machine was generally relegated to the delivery of a single type of product container of uniform dimension and/or shape—only bottled beverages, only canned beverages, only beverages in cartons, and so on. Such vending machines could not simultaneously store, retrieve or deliver containers having different sizes, shapes or weights. While some improvements have allowed certain vending machines to handle multiple containers (e.g., a single machine may be adapted to handle beverages in both aluminum cans and plastic bottles), these machines require the containers to have similar characteristics, i.e., all of them having a generally cylindrical body. Other machines require special kits to adapt them to be able to handle different sizes and shapes of containers, including cylindrical packages of different sizes.
The ever-increasing number of different container configurations necessitates the development of a single vending machine that can store, retrieve and deliver substantially different product packages quickly and smoothly. For example, beverages are not only provided in aluminum cans, and glass or plastic bottles, but also in rectangular cartons (such as milk cartons), hourglass-shaped containers, and flexible mylar or foil containers (such as children's juice packages), to name a few. One need only imagine the many different children's characters whose shapes may be adapted into beverage containers to appreciate the challenge to the vending machine industry presented by such containers. In addition, manufacturers are regularly developing new sizes and shapes for beverage containers and other packages for advertising or other reasons, all of which pose new problems for the storage, retrieval and delivery of those different containers by a single vending machine.
Various devices have been developed to allow vending machines to store, retrieve and deliver packages having different characteristics. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,230,930 and 6,328,180 disclose devices for transporting a carriage along the X and Y planes of a vending machine to an appropriate location for retrieving a selected product. An escapement mechanism is used to release the endmost product from a queue into the carriage which then gently transports the product to a delivery port. However, both of these devices are limited to use with generally cylindrical beverage containers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,627 discloses a vending machine using conveyor belts to transport beverage containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,892 discloses a vending machine for retrieving standardized containers containing different articles from a shelf-like structure, making the containers accessible by a customer for removal of the article inside, and returning the empty container to the shelf. However, neither of these devices is capable of transporting containers of different sizes, shapes, weights and/or deformabilities.
Existing vending machine escapement mechanisms generally trap the next-to-vend product in position at the end of the tray column, using a mechanical stop, which pins this product against the opposing column wall or some other rigid element while the endmost product is removed. This principle requires accurate gauging of the width of the package in order to guarantee retention of the next-to-vend package. Due to the proliferation of package sizes, carbonation levels (which determine package firmness and thus dimensional stability), and package types (cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles, deformable mylar squeeze packs, cartons, etc), most existing machines are unable to deal with more than one type of package, and can only reliably deal with containers having rigid, uniform exteriors. It is therefore desirable to provide a vending machine that is capable of simultaneously storing containers having a wide variety of different sizes, shapes, deformabilities and/or weights, and efficiently retrieving and/or delivering such containers.
Product freshness is a perpetual problem for vending machines. Vending machines should be stocked and re-stocked so that the oldest products are vended before the newer products, in a “first in first out” manner. Many vending machines utilize racks or shelves extending from the back end of the machine to the front, with products retrieved and vended from the front end. Unfortunately, the front end of the rack or shelf is also the easiest, and in some cases it is the only way to access when restocking the vending machine. Such racks require all existing products to be removed in order to restock with newer, fresher products in front. This may result in a tendency to deposit newer products at the easily-accessible front end of the rack or shelf, thereby pushing the older products to the rear. This can result in the older products remaining in the vending machine for great lengths of time, leading to potential spoliation and consumer dissatisfaction. It is therefore desirable to provide a vending machine having front-facing racks or shelves that can be easily restocked from their rear ends forward.
Repair and maintenance of vending machines in the field is also an ever present problem. Revenue may be lost if the machine must be disassembled for any length of time while critical component parts are repaired in the field. With more complicated machines, repairs become more difficult and time-consuming. Removing the machine for factory repair completely eliminates revenue generation. It is therefore desirable to provide the various component parts of the machine (product trays, shelves, product retrieval mechanism, electronic components, delivery port, heating/cooling system, etc.) in modular form so that if any of these components fail in the field, they may be easily swapped out with working components in a minimal amount of time.